But I seem to remember a gracious offer made by a Ms. Houston to give the Town of Waitsfield all the water they needed [in perpetuity], if she could just get a permit for her aquifer to send her water down to Route 100 to sell and bottle some of it?

Now we all get the town's threat to either sign up for a water hook-up agreement at $1,000, before an imaginary bond approval vote by the people of The Valley, or we will suffer the consequences of having to pay twice as much ($2,000), after this great imaginary Town Meeting Day vote to approve this multi-million dollar water system?

Then to inform all The Valley people who pledged to hook up, that for the mere additional cost of approximately another $750 -- each and every year thereafter -- they will have this nice chemically treated water? Ahh, but not to worry me dears, since you are no longer the owners of the land upon which you live, but merely the guardians for the state, until you can no longer pay to maintain it, whereupon they will reluctantly take over your land and hopefully unload it upon another unsuspecting sucker!

Happy New Year,

Charlie Kettles

Waitsfield

PS: Didn't Northfield, whose water system just failed big ($$$$) time, do the basic hook-up for free? C.K.

Editor's Note: Mr. Kettles is incorrect about Virginia Houston offering to give the town 'all the water they needed [in perpetuity], if she could just get a permit for her aquifer to send water down to Route 100.' Houston never sought permits to install a pipeline to bring her water down to Route 100. She sought and received permits to truck water from the Reed Road aquifer site.